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Triathlon at 2024 Paris Olympics: How it works, Team USA stars, what else to know

chase goodbread, usa today network
·2-min read

Here's what you need to know about triathlon at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

When did triathlon become an Olympic sport?

Triathlon became an Olympic sport in 2000 at the Sydney Games. At the 2020 Tokyo Games, a mixed relay event was introduced.

How does Olympic triathlon work?

Olympic triathlon competition includes men's, women's and mixed relay events, with the mixed relay consisting of two men and two women per country. The field includes 110 qualifiers (55 men, 55 women).

In the individual events, athletes complete a 1,500-meter swim, a 40-kilometer cycling race and a 10-kilometer run. There are no heats; the only competition is the final.

The mixed relay event is a shorter course in which each athlete completes a 300-meter swim, a 6.8-kilometer cycling race and a 2-kilometer run, then tags a relay teammate in a female-male-female-male succession.

American Taylor Knibb, front, dives into the water at the start of the women's triathlon during the Tokyo Olympics on July 27, 2021.
American Taylor Knibb, front, dives into the water at the start of the women's triathlon during the Tokyo Olympics on July 27, 2021.

Who are the top Team USA athletes in triathlon?

  • Morgan Pearson (men): Pearson was one of four to win a silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Games in the mixed relay competition. He qualified for the Paris Games at the 2023 World Triathlon Paris Test Event and most recently won the 2024 Americas Triathlon Championships Miami with a time of 1:43:39.

  • Taylor Knibb (women): Like Pearson, Knibb was part of the mixed relay team that took silver at the 2020 Tokyo Games and qualified for the Paris Games at the Paris Test Event. She is a two-time champion of the Women's 70.3 Ironman competition, most recently with a time of 3:53:02 at the 2023 event.

  • Other Americans who qualified: Seth Rider, Kirsten Kasper and Taylor Spivey.

What's the international landscape in Olympic triathlon?

No country has been especially dominant over the sport's relatively brief history of six Olympics. In individual competition, five countries shared six medals at the 2020 Tokyo Games (Norway, United States, New Zealand, Bermuda, and two for Great Britain).

Based on an impressive 2023 season, Great Britain's Alex Yee is a strong contender for men's gold. Yee took silver in the 2020 Games. On the women's side, Bermuda's Flora Duffy returns to defend her 2020 gold medal against a deep field of top contenders from Great Britain, France and others.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Triathlon at 2024 Paris Olympics: How it works, what to know